Instagram 3.0 introduces Photo Map and other improvements

Instagram has gone 3.0 and includes a lot of improvements including a new feature called Photo Map. Photo Map displays all your geotagged instagram photos on a map making it super easy to browse your photos by location. In addition to Photo Map, Instagram 3.0 also brings redesigned profile and upload screens, infinite scrolling on photo feeds, the ability to flag inappropriate comments, and more.

Keep in mind that when using Photo Map, it's important to consider privacy and security before adding photos. For example, it's probably a bad idea to add photos that will indicate where you live or work. Instagram did a great job of making sure they made this clear to their users with a huge message before allowing you to use Photo Map for the first time.

When you first use Instagram after installing the update, you will be prompted to add all your existing photos to your Photo Map. You will be able to select exactly which photos you want add and they will be organized by location making it easy to remember where you took the photos.

Viewing the photos on a map is actually a very fun experience. As you zoom around the map, you can watch the photo separate into more specific groups. If you tap on a group, the map will zoom into an area that includes all those photos and separate them into more specific locations. The animations are very smooth and fun. Great work by the Instagram team.

The profile screens have also been updated to include a tap for viewing the user's Photo Map. Additionally, you can browse though the user's photos as thumbnails or as a feed.

Former app and photography editor at iMore, Leanna has since moved on to other endeavors. Mother, wife, mathamagician, even though she no longer writes for iMore you can still follow her on Twitter @llofte.

Reader comments

Instagram 3.0 introduces Photo Map and other improvements

It is a great update, improving the look and navigation of the app. But, dozens of the people I follow have added hundreds of pictures to their "photo maps" showing precisely where they live and work. I'm slightly concerned that people are not fully thinking through the consequences of sharing that information.

I agree. I did allow my pictures to be photomapped by Instagram but I did not allow the ones that I uploaded from my actual home area.

It seems like they made it easy for people to do that as they separated them into groups and you could uncheck a whole location with one tap. Not quite sure why everyone isn't doing that with their home location.